


Mission Gone Wrong

by Elover05



Series: Of all the Houses Series [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Because I'm a sucker for that, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Families of Choice, Fluff, Found Family, Gabriel calls Sombra Mija, I just love McSombra so much, Papa Reyes, Parent Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Slight Violence, Survivor Guilt, Whump, guilt complex, they all love each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elover05/pseuds/Elover05
Summary: A mission goes wrong, Jesse gets hurt, and Gabe and Sombra have massive guilt complexes.Or:As Gabriel sprinted towards the ship, trying his best to be gentle with Jesse, he felt his heart start to speed up.What if Jesse didn’t make it?The thought immediately following that was, selfishly, ‘What am I going to tell Sombra?’
Relationships: Jesse McCree & Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Jesse McCree & Reaper | Gabriel Reyes & Sombra | Olivia Colomar, Jesse McCree/Sombra | Olivia Colomar, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes & Sombra | Olivia Colomar
Series: Of all the Houses Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697608
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	Mission Gone Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of you wanted me to continue my earlier McSombra story, so here's a story in the same universe, but now with extra angst! Hope you enjoy!  
> This is a sequel to my other story, 'Of all the Houses in all the World, you Broke into Mine', but You don't need to read that story to understand this.  
> In this story, Jesse is 19, while Sombra is 18.

Sometimes, it was hard to remember just how powerful Sombra really was. With her bad pranks and witty jokes, she sometimes seemed young and normal.

But there were times when there was a fire in her eyes and determination in her step, where everything about her screamed of this dangerous power that was rivaled by none. 

It had been awhile since Gabriel had seen her like this. The longer she spent with Blackwatch, the more comfortable she became. She would no longer tense when someone entered a room. She would no longer go into fight or flight mode when someone tried to touch her. She was, slowly, learning to live her life with them.

But now she was seething, stomping through the winding hallways of the base as every agent within five feet of her literally dove out of the way.

“Where. Is. He?” Sombra demanded, her voice as cold as ice. Gabriel was normally known for his composure, especially in times of stress, but seeing Sombra like this chilled him to the bone, making him shiver.

“He’s in surgery. You can’t see him now. Dr. Ziegler is doing everything she can to help him, and if there's one person I trust to keep him stable, it’s her. But she needs to focus, and having you there wouldn’t help.”

Sombra glared harder, but didn’t argue. She seemed to see the logic in his argument.

Gabriel wanted to reach out to her, to give her comfort, but he had a feeling that she wouldn’t appreciate that. She blamed him, it was obvious.

Not that she was wrong to blame him. After all, it was his fault.

_ “Reyes, look out!” _

_ Gabriel turned in time to see the grenade land next to him. It was too late to get away, too late to do anything but take the blow. _

_ Maybe he’d survive. _

_ He really hoped he would survive. He wasn’t ready to die. _

_ There was a bang, then a wave of heat and fire. Gabriel felt his flesh begin to burn. The ringing in his ears was loud, so loud he didn’t hear Jesse scream. He only noticed the agony the boy was in when he looked down to see him, covered in blood with shrapnel buried deep into his body. _

_ He had jumped in front of the grenade. _

“You promised me. You promised me that this would be a simple recon mission. No danger involved.”

Gabriel winced. It was  _ supposed _ to be that simple. Get through security, download some files, and get out.

He should’ve known that something would go wrong. Something always went wrong. He just hadn’t expected it to go wrong enough to end up in a fire fight.

“I know. I know. I… I was-- I was wrong. I’m sorry,” Gabriel said, not sure what he could do to make the situation better.

He felt a sharp impact hit him in the chest. Sombra had punched him. Then she did it again, and again, and again. He didn’t stop her, didn’t do anything but stand there and take it. He deserved worse. He deserved so much worse.

He deserved to take Jesse’s spot. He deserved to be the one clinging to life.

_ “Medic! MEDIC!” Angela looked over at Gabriel’s frantic screams, immediately gliding to them. “Help him, please! You-- You gotta help him,” He begged, hands trembling in fear. _

_ Jesse couldn’t die. He wouldn’t. Not here, not now. _

_ “Get out of the way, I need to see what’s wrong.” Angela demanded, her staff already sending a constant stream of healing nanobots his way. _

_ “How can I… How do I help him.” _

_ “You can help him by covering us, giving me time to work, and staying out of my way,” Angela said, her fingers already beginning their work, flying across his body as she began bandaging him up.  _

_ Gabriel wanted to object. There had to be something more he could do. She cut him off before any of the protests left his mouth. “I mean it, Commander. I need room to work.”  _

_ Gabriel hesitated, then nodded. He would protect them so the doctor could do her work. He wouldn’t let anything happen to them. Never again would he let Jesse be hurt this badly. _

“‘Sorry’ doesn’t cut it, Reyes!” Sombra screamed, her hits hitting a little harder as she continued to pummel him.

Eventually though, her punches softened, until they were little more than pitiful slaps. Her entire body was trembling, but from anger or fear, Gabriel wasn’t certain. “You should have… You should have…” Her words were cut off by a sob.

Gabriel startled as he noticed the tears streaming down her face. In the three years they had lived in the same base, Gabriel had never seen her so much as sniffle. She had been hurt, afraid, angry, had gone through every emotion that exists.

She had never cried.

“Sombra, I--”

“Don’t you dare say a single word! This is your fault! If you hadn’t taken him on this mission, he’d be fine! Why did you… Why did you do it?” She had a tinge of desperation to her voice, as if hoping he could give her an answer that would solve all her problems. 

And Gabriel knew that there was no answer he could give her that would satisfy her. Not when Jesse was in surgery, his condition unknown.

But he still tried. “He was… I thought… I eventually would have to take you on missions. I thought it would be an easy one, I swear. I didn’t know…”

Sombra deflated, looking so young for a minute.

Sometime in raising them, he had forgotten they were just kids. Skilled, dangerous kids, but kids nonetheless.

“I’m sorry,” He said again, which was like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.

_ Talon soldiers kept approaching from all directions, but Gabriel was skilled and desperate, which was a good combination in the middle of a firefight. _

_ “Gabriel, we need to get back to base. I can’t do much more without proper medical supplies,” Angela said, staying professional. Trying to keep her emotions out of the situation. _

_ She didn’t do a good job of hiding the fear in her eyes, though. _

_ “We’re making a retreat. All agents must head back to the ship,” Gabriel hissed into his comms, while gently lifting Jesse so he could carry him. _

_ Protests exploded in his ears, agents arguing that they could do this, there was no need to retreat. _

_ “The next person to object to my orders is getting left behind,” Gabriel growled, and the protests halted in their tracks after that. _

_ As he sprinted towards the ship, trying his best to be gentle with Jesse, he felt his heart start to speed up. _

_ What if he didn’t make it? _

_ The thought immediately following that was, selfishly,  _ ‘What am I going to tell Sombra?’ 

_ He couldn’t believe that was what he was worrying about right now, but… what would happen if Jesse died? What would happen to Sombra? _

_ Gabriel shut down that line of thought as fast as he could. Jesse wasn’t going to die. Because if he did… Gabriel couldn’t even fathom what would happen. _

_ Jesse was a part of his life now, along with Sombra. They were his kids. He couldn’t let them die. _

“S--stop saying you’re sorry! Sorry does… doesn’t ch--change anything!” Sombra screamed, her voice stuttering in between sobs and hiccups.

Gabriel, for the life of him, didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know how to help her.

So he did the only thing he could think of, no matter how stupid it was. He wrapped his arms around her, and held on for dear life.

Sombra stiffened, her entire body going rigid, in shock or fear--he wasn’t sure. He was about to pull away, to apologise profusely, when she loosened, burrowing into his shirt and sobbing harder. 

“That’s it, Mija.” Gabriel didn’t even realise the term of endearment slipped out. “Let it out. Just like that,” Gabriel hummed, trembling hands running down Sombra’s back in an attempt to soothe her.

“I… I can-- can’t do it w--without him! Please… Please don’t make me do th--this without him!” She begged, voice strangled as she gasped for breath.

“You need to breathe, Sombra. Can you do that for me?” She shook her head, hands gripping his shirt so hard that it began to tear. “I know you can. Come on, you can do it. Breathe with me, alright? In… and out… in… and out… just like that, Mija. You’re doing so good.”

She listened to him, and slowly, her breathing evened out, and her sobs calmed, now just sniffles and hiccups. “You… You called me Mija.” She pointed out, looking up at him with purple eyes that glittered with the remnants of her tears.

Gabriel froze. He had.

Because it was true. Sombra was his daughter, and Jesse was his son. The three of them, the five of them if you included Jack and Ana, were a family.

He couldn’t tell her that, though. He couldn’t risk scaring her away.

Before he got a chance to try and take back what he said, though, Sombra hummed, settling back into his arms. “S’okay, Gabe. I don’t mind. You’re the best Papa I could have asked for,” She murmured, before her eyes closed and she promptly passed out.

Gabriel was able to keep her steady, even with how stunned he was. Something light and fuzzy filled his insides.

So, with that warm feeling in his chest, he slid down, still cradling Sombra in his arms, and let himself fall asleep.

* * *

“...Lost him… minutes, but… amputated… okay.” Gabriel could just slightly make out some of the words, But he couldn’t make sense of them. ‘Lost him’? Who’s him? And what’s this about amputation?

“...Scarring covers… some burn marks… never fade…” The words were confusing, and Gabriel just wanted to go back to sleep. And possibly to figure out why his bed was so uncomfortable and hard.

He peeked his eyes open, wincing at the white light that burned his irises. “Wha--?”

“Oh, Gabriel, you’re awake!” Someone said, and he heard footsteps approaching him. “I… I’m so sorry about what happened.” That was Ana’s voice. “But Jesse is tough. He’ll pull through.”

Gabriel shot up like a bullet.  _ Jesse. The grenade. The explosion. That self-sacrificing idiot throwing himself in front of Gabriel. The blood. The screams. _

“Woah, woah, calm down. He’s gonna be okay.” That was Jack speaking, and Gabriel felt a large, warm hand pressing against his shoulder.

“He’s… I didn’t mean for him too… He shouldn’t’ve…” Gabriel panted, clawing at the floor in a blind panic.

“That doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that he’s alive.”

Gabriel let the word ‘alive’ echo in his mind, repeating like a broken record. Jesse was alive. Jesse was alive. Jesse was alive.

Slowly, the mantra calmed him, until he could open his eyes and sit up.

He looked around, trying to get his bearings. They were in the medical ward, specifically in the waiting room. The smell of latex and medicine was thick in the air. He was on the floor, with… Sombra curled up next to him, eyes closed tight.

Huh. He’d never seen Sombra sleep. She had never been comfortable enough to let her guard down and relax that much around anyone (except Jesse, but he was always the exception to her rules).

He wasn’t sure if the fact that she was sleeping now, in his presence, was a good thing or a bad thing.

Gabriel tore his eyes away from Sombra’s sleeping form to look at the three other people in the room with him: Angela, Jack, and Ana. The latter two were kneeling down next to him in a show of support, while the former stood by the door, bags under her eyes and a clipboard in hand.

They all had this look on their faces that scared him. It wasn’t devastated, per se, but it was pretty close.

“What happened?” Gabriel asked, nerviously flicking his eyes back and forth between the three of them.

“There’s… There’s something we need to tell you, Gabi. It’s about Jesse.”

_ No. No, no, no, no, no! They had just told him that Jesse had made it. They couldn’t be lying! _

“The shrapnel in his arm… it was too much for him, Gabe. We… Angela had to… She had to amputate his arm.”

Gabriel felt all the air leave his lungs. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved that Jesse wasn’t dead, or horrified at the news.

Probably a little bit of both.

_ Amputated. They had amputated Jesse’s arm. _

_ Because of him. _

“It’s okay, Gabriel. We have the best doctors and engineers in the world. We’ll be able to make him a perfect prosthetic. He’s going to be fine,” Jack soothed, using his most calming voice.

“You… you don’t understand…” Gabriel rasped, trying to keep his voice quiet so Sombra could stay asleep. “It-- It was supposed to be me. The grenade was meant for  _ me _ . Jesse jumped in front of it. I should have… I should have…” And that was the thing. Gabriel didn’t know what he should have done. But he knew there must have been something.

Because if there wasn’t something to blame, that meant he just had to accept it and move on. Not hold a grudge. It had to be his fault.

“Gabriel Reyes, you listen to me right now,” Ana said, voice firm as she lifted Gabriel’s chin so he could look into her eyes. “Jesse made a choice. I’m not saying it was a good or bad choice, but we both know that once Jesse decides to do something, there’s nothing and no one who can stop him.

“Blaming yourself won’t help. You know who’s to blame? Talon. That’s it. So all that anger you’ve pitted against yourself? Turn it towards them. And don’t you dare let yourself wallow in pity. Jesse needs you right now. Be there for him.”

Gabriel sat, processing the words. Before he had time to respond though, Sombra mumbled, “Wow. You’re really good at speeches. You could have been a great speech writer for the president in a different life. Or even in this life. It’s never too late for a career change, y’know.” Everyone turned to stare at Sombra, shock at her not only being up, but also her cracking jokes. When none of them laughed, Sombra shrugged. “Geeze, guys. I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”

“How much of our conversation did you hear?” Ana asked, caution laced in her tone.

“Just the last bit,” She said, eyes darting between the people in the room. “Why? What were you talking about?”

The adults looked at each other, none of them sure how to tell Sombra that Jesse’s arm was gone.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, panic laced in her tone now. “Is Jesse… No, please tell me he’s not…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, wasn’t able to even imagine a world where Jesse wasn’t there with her.

“He’s okay,” Jack assured her, before pressing his lips together. “But, uh…”

Sombra squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the worst. “Just tell me. Rip the bandage off. Please.”

“Jesse’s arm was amputated,” Gabriel blurted, knowing that the longer they waited to tell her, the more anxious she was going to get. And it was only right that he was the one to tell her.

Sombra’s lips parted slightly, but other than that, she didn’t react.

Gabriel reached out to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. It was natural for him to try and comfort her. 

After a few seconds of trying to control her breathing, she asked, “Is he awake?”

“Yes, but he’s--” Angela was cut off by Sombra bolting up and running into the room.

The minute she stepped foot in, she felt like she was going to throw up. Hearing that the love of her life had lost his arm was one thing.

Seeing the stub at his elbow was another.

Jesse didn’t seem to share the sentiment, though, as he was grinning from ear to ear as he looked over at her. “Heya, Sugarplum. Did’ya know tha’ I los’ my arm? It’s awesome! I’ma get one o’ those cool prosthetics!” Jesse’s words were slurred with the drugs running through his system.

Sombra did her best to smile, trying to hide the pain and anger that shot through her. His words were a brutal reminder that she failed to protect him. That she couldn’t keep him safe, like she always swore she would. “Yeah, yeah. Prosthetics. That’s, uh… That’s going to be cool.”

Jesse grinned, looking way too happy for the situation. “Yeah!” He cheered. Then, he frowned, tilting his head as he stared at her. “Wha’s with the long face, Pumpkin Pie? Somethin’ wrong?”

Sombra sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips. Even when drugged out of his mind, Jesse was still able to read her, still trying to make her happy. She loved him so much.

_ But you couldn’t protect him. _

“I’m fine, Jess,” She said, and it wasn’t a lie. Not really.

After all, she wasn’t the one lying in a hospital bed, empty space where her arm should be. She wasn’t the one who almost died. Who did die, for a few minutes.

Jesse squinted his eyes in thought, before grinning. “A’ight, Honey Bun.” Sombra rolled her eyes. Apparently, Jesse was even better at finding ridiculous pet names when he was drugged.

_ He wouldn’t be drugged in the first place if you hadn’t failed to protect him. _

“M’ tired. I’ma go to sleep now,” Jesse announced, eyes drifting shut. “Ya stayin’ ‘ere?” He asked, looking at her hopefully.

Sombra sat down in the chair next to his hospital bed, taking his hand in hers. “Oh course, Mi Amor.”

Jesse frowned. Sombra was about to ask him what was wrong, but he spoke first. “Are ya not gonna come snuggle?” He asked, an adorable pout on his face. Sombra almost laughed at how cute he looked. She wished she could take a picture.

“There’s not enough room on the bed for us to snuggle, Vaquero.”

He frowned harder, before wiggling aside to provide some more space. “There!” He said, smiling like a fool.

How was Sombra supposed to say no to that?

She awkwardly climbed onto the bed beside him. Before she had even had the chance to settle into a comfortable position, Jesse had wrapped his arm tightly around her and had nuzzled into her hair. “G’night, Sugar.”

“Buenas noches, Mi Sol.”

Jesse fell asleep instantly, where Sombra was too terrified to close her eyes. She was afraid of what she would imagine if she did.

It wasn’t that she thought that losing an arm was the end of the world. Really, it wasn’t the amputation she was worried about.

Instead, she was worried about the trauma that would come with that kind of pain. What was going to happen when the drugs wore off, when Jesse realised that his arm was just… gone?

Sombra didn’t want to think about that. She didn’t want to think about the phantom pains he might experience, about the PTSD he might have.

She didn’t want him to go through that, especially after the life he had already gone through. The only thing she wanted in life was for Jesse to be okay. Was for him to be happy and safe.

But she had failed.

And Jesse would suffer the consequences.

“It’s not your fault.” Sombra looked over to see Gabriel standing in the doorway. “It’s not anyone’s fault but Talon’s.”

“Yeah, I heard Amari’s big speech,” Sombra said, scowling. “But I should have protected him.”

Gabriel walked further into the room, eyes raking over Jesse’s sleeping body and lingering on the space where his arm used to be. “You can’t wrap him in bubble wrap. Believe me, you can’t. I’ve tried to protect the two of you. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t. But people get hurt, sometimes, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Sombra hated that he was right. “Hasn’t he gone through enough?”

“He’s gone through more terrible things than he deserves,” Gabriel agreed. “There’s nothing we can do about that except--”

“Be there for him.” Sombra finished, looking down at Jesse’s sleeping face and brushing a strand of hair behind his ear.

Gabriel nodded. “It sucks. I hate it, too. But it’s true.”

Sombra felt tears well up in her eyes. “I just… I just want him to be okay,” She mumbled, letting her fingers gently trail down Jesse’s cheek until she was cupping the side of his face. Even in his sleep, he leaned into the touch.

“He will be,” Gabriel assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You should get some sleep.”

Sombra shook her head. “I can’t.”

Sitting down in the chair next to her, Gabriel gently took her hand in his. “Me and Jesse will be here the whole time. I promise,” He assured her, squeezing her hand lightly.

She looked unsure, but eventually, the exhaustion from her stress won out, and she closed her eyes, resting her head on Jesse’s chest.

Before sleep overtook her, she made herself a promise. A promise that she would help Jesse in any way she could.

And with that settled, she let herself fall into the abyss of sleep. 


End file.
